Dr.UIDA Liquid Light Experiment

Despite the generation gap, I grew up listening to rock and roll from the 60s and 70s. I first saw a liquid light show in a Pink Floyd video when I was still a teenager, and I was impressed by the visual spectacle.

Psychedelic rock crept into my life, so it was inevitable that there would be tremendous interest in liquid light shows. I enjoy vintage and analog, so this project attempts to reproduce the wonders of the masters without using digital elements.

The way of the psychonaut cannot have better lighting than that provided by liquid light shows!

I knew the work of Joshua White and Bill Ham. They were names that came up frequently when reading about the cultural movement of the 60s and 70s.

It is amazing to have the opportunity to have Joshua in such a close way through the Psychedelic Light Show Preservation Society page.

He was the one who gave me the first basic tips!

I am a huge fan of Piet Koster (Lightshow Sphinx) and his heat slides. He unknowingly introduced me to this technique and, if I bought my first Leitz Prado, it was because of his inspiration.

Another big influence on me has been the outreach work of Steve Pavlosky (Liquid Light Lab).

Thanks to him I have built much of the complementary material that I use. The artist community is very friendly and welcoming and I am very inspired by many others, such as Claudio Armengol (Visual Brewer) and his amazing blow plates.

Till today —October 31st, 2020— I had the opportunity to work with FÖSS, a local band from Gran Canaria (Spain), last December 6th, 2019.

Then, the world was frozen by a plague (COVID-19) and everything stopped.

In my humble opinion, it was the first time that a Liquid Light Show was part of a performance in the Canary Islands.

This sparked a lot of interest and there are some collaborative projects for when the world turns around again.

In July 25th, 2020, I made a performance in a dubstep party. So funny!!!

I am currently finishing a project in collaboration with a photographer. The project will feature a live performance on the day of the presentation, hopefully by the end of 2020. There are other future projects that have not yet been completed.

The Canary Islands are a small archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Unfortunately, I have no one around to collaborate closely with. Still, I hope to collaborate with other artists around the world soon.

I have a good relationship with Visual Brewer, from Argentina, as well as with other artists from the Psychedelic Light Show Preservation Society. I am exciting about the future!

I am a Veterinary Medical Doctor who is dedicated to teaching Toxicology at the University. I often see myself as some kind of druid, mixing compounds in the laboratory as if I was making magick potions.

Liquid light shows have an alchemical part that fascinates me.

Dr.UIDA is a term that aims to unite both scientific and mystical worlds that envelop the liquid light shows. The name popped into my head when I was reading "How to Change your Mind” —written by Michael Pollan—, in Giessen (Germany) in September 2019.

Until then, the project had no name.

In a tangible way, the project started after I got my first OHP, in mid-2018. However, it was not until the beginning of 2019 that I wanted to make the project a reality, investing in material and experimenting a lot and the “Dr.UIDA Liquid Light Experiment” project is active since then.

At the moment, I am the only member of the project, although I would love to share the creativity with other artists.

My live experience is very limited but I rehearse a lot at home. My youngest son, just three years old, gets excited every time he sees the projectors come on. My older children, ages 12 and 14, sometimes participate in rehearsals. These are good times. Apart from that, my lawyer always tells me not to say a word if he is not present!

In the first show I used one OHP and three Kodak Ektalite 500 slide projection, plus some color wheels.

In the next one I introduced another OHP. I have participated very recently in a project with a photographer where I have worked with two OHP and a Leitz Prado 250 for heat slides. The project will be presented at the end of 2020 and I hope to be able to carry out a live performance where I can include more simultaneous material.

Much of the material acquired comes from overseas. You don't get this on this little piece of the planet.

I built a mechanical stroboscope which I intend to introduce in combination with some mirrors. Let's see how it's fit.

I love the effect caused by the ripple wheel. I made one of them following the instructions of Steve Pavlosky. In combination with medical slides (histological sections, microscopic images, karyotypes, etc.), which I have been able to acquire through my profession, very weird effects are created.

I started with one OHP and three Kodak Ektalite 500 for analogic slides. The family soon grew and I now have four OHP, although I only have the capacity to use two at a time, and a pair of Leitz Prado 250.

Dr.UIDA Liquid Light Experimet is 100% analogic!

Luis Henríquez - October 31st 2020